Marjorie Taylor Greene discusses Trump and the GOP in return to ‘The View’
Marjorie Taylor Greene, now a former member of Congress, said she is rethinking her allegiances to the Republican Party after a public split with President Donald Trump.
“I haven’t said if I’m leaving the Republican Party, but my focus is, America First,” she told the hosts of ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday.
Host Sara Haines asked Greene if she might join her in shrugging off any party affiliation and become an independent.
“I do believe every politician should have to earn a vote and not have an already jersey-wearing person come into a booth” to vote for them, Haines said.
“I agree with you,” Greene responded.
The exchange was part of a wide-ranging segment that marked Greene’s return to the popular daytime TV talk show two days after officially stepping down from her northwest Georgia seat.
She discussed her split with Trump, who called her a “traitor” and pledged to support a primary challenger after she resisted his efforts and pushed forward with Democrats to force a vote on releasing files related to the investigation of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Greene said that the threats to her and her family resulting from Trump’s criticism had become too much to bear.
She also reiterated that she had no plans to run for president, the U.S. Senate or Georgia governor, despite much speculation.
Greene also pushed back when the hosts challenged past statements she made about the breach of the U.S. Capitol five years ago on Jan. 6, 2021.
She said she still believes the people charged with rioting that day were treated unfairly by a “two-tier justice system” and that she is against solitary confinement, which some defendants faced.
Greene said she still does not hold Trump responsible because he told his supporters to march peacefully to the Capitol. But she does not condone what happened that day and acknowledges now that the culprits were loyal to Trump. She said it took time for her to come to that conclusion.
“I had never seen Trump supporters be violent before,” Greene said, as scoffs from the audience were heard on the live broadcast.
About the Author
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
